


Tradition

by SentientMango



Series: Remus, Roman, and Chaos From Childhood [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Siblings, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Dehydration, Fainting, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Kid Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Latino Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Latino Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Latino Morality | Patton Sanders, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, QPR Anxciet, Queerplatonic Relationships, Some Humor, Swearing, Teenage Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Teenage Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, dad!logan, dad!patton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29403594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientMango/pseuds/SentientMango
Summary: Roman and Remus catch up with their uncles and hear a new story about their dads’ childhood.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Remus, Roman, and Chaos From Childhood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160024
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: TSS Fanworks Collective





	Tradition

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: A huge thank you to the people in the TSS Fanworks Collective discord for brainstorming this AU with me and my two awesome betas for this fic itsadastraperaspera and extraordinarycorn (same names on both AO3 and tumblr!)

“Boys! Dinner!”

“Coming!” Roman yelled back to his dad before promptly kicking the headphones off of Remus’s ears.

“Oi!” Remus said as he swat at Roman. “Watch where you put your feet!”

“Parde called!” Roman said as he dodged Remus before smiling innocently at him. “I was just making sure you knew!”

Remus rolled his eyes and chucked his headphones on the bed. “Whatever, I would have come regardless.”

“Was that… gratitude?” Roman gasped, “Oh my- I thought I’d never live to see the day.”

Remus faked a gag as he subtly inched in front of Roman on their way towards the stairs. “I wouldn't get used to it. Race you!”

Remus sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time, leaving Roman to flounder behind him. 

“No fair!” Roman cried, “you had a head start!” 

Roman sprinted down the stairs after Remus, not sparing a second glance to the dozens of photos that covered the walls. There were old ones, from when the twins were babies, and older ones still from major events in their dads' lives, their wedding, college graduation, family reunions, birthdays; some of the pictures held faces Roman had never met, but many of them were filled with familiar faces. The ones Roman liked the most were the ones he could remember. 

A picture of his bisabuela’s ninetieth birthday. He remembered Dad behind the camera trying to make sure everyone was in frame. He could still practically feel Papa’s hand squeezing his shoulder as Roman grinned towards the camera. Roman had lost two teeth the day before, his smile was wide and the holes were in full display.

A picture of Uncle Janus helping him pick out what to wear to his first piano recital— Roman had been so nervous he didn’t even register Papa with the camera until the shutter clicked. 

A picture of Roman and Remus both covered in mud as they proudly presented the frogs they’d caught to the camera. Their dad, who’d helped them catch them, was smiling along with his sons, pride and exhaustion in his eyes. Roman had named his frog, Frog. Names have never been his strong suit.

A picture of Uncle Virgil singing karaoke at a small restaurant he’d taken Roman and Remus to when he was babysitting them a few years ago. They’d dared him to, and Virgil had been reluctant, but thinking back on it Roman thought he probably only did that so he could barter a deal of what they would do if he did it, because when Virgil got up there he shone as though he'd been waiting to get up there all night. Roman remembered the exact note when his attitude changed from amusement to awe.

A picture of Roman and Remus working with wood for the first time, they’d built a rickety bird house. Remus almost cut his finger off, and they never put it up because it looked too dangerous for the birds, but it had been so much fun. That was truly the gateway project to what they could do now with some wood, saws, and an afternoon.

Roman finished running down the stairs and quickly rounded the corner to the dining room and immediately grinned at who he saw, “You’re back!”

Janus and Virgil looked over from where they were being squeezed half to death by Remus. Janus waved, “Roman! Please tell me it has actually just been two weeks since we last saw you, he’s acting like we died.”

Roman snorted and ran over to join the hug. “Yeah, but two weeks is a long time!”

“Especially without our favorite uncles!” Remus added.

Janus ruffled Remus’s hair playfully. “We’re not even your uncles!”

“Yes you are!” The twins chorused.

Virgil looked at Janus, amused. “I mean come on Jan, at this point you might as well give in for good—or are you going to try and deny it for another sixteen years?”

Janus sighed dramatically and, not for the first time, said, “Alright fine, I give in! I’m your uncle.”

The twins cheered, like they did everytime Janus begrudgingly accepted he was in fact, their uncle. Janus and Virgil might not be biologically related to them, but Roman and Remus had quite literally known them their entire lives and they were just as family as their dads. And of course Janus knew that. Despite the jokes, if anyone outside of the family questioned his or anyone else’s place in the family, well Janus wasn’t exactly one for passive action.

“Did Janus decide he wasn’t your uncle again?” Patton asked as he walked into the kitchen area of the dining room and began to take pots off the stove.

“As is tradition!” Roman said.

“Well if you’re such a traditionalist, go wash up and set the table!” Remus snorted as Roman groaned, but Patton just pointed a spoon at Remus. “What are you laughing at?" he admonished. "Go wash your hands, we have guests, you’re helping.”

“They don’t count as guests,” Remus groaned as he followed Roman to the sink. “They’re family!”

“Well family helps family and I’m sure you're hungry, it’ll go faster with two of you!”

Pops was right, he always was about this type of thing, right as they finished setting the table the front door swung open and their Dad stepped in. He didn’t look into the kitchen and just called, “I’m home!”

“Come over here!” Patton called, “I have a surprise!”

“Is it whatever that wonderful smell is because if so-” Logan walked into the kitchen and his gaze immediately softened upon seeing Virgil and Janus, “-oh. Welcome home.”

“You’re such a softy L, get over here,” Virgil said as he extended an arm for a hug.

“And I thought I missed them!” Remus chirped.

Roman jabbed Remus with his elbow, “Shut it! They’re having a moment!”

Logan laughed slightly and pulled back from the hug. “How did it go?” He asked the pair.

“As well as it could have,” Janus responded. “And of course we haven’t had a chance to head home yet, Patton was kind enough to pick us up, so that’s why our luggage is in your living room.”

Roman, Remus, and Logan all peeked into the room curiously, “So it is,” Logan said. “Well, I’m sure we can drive you home when all is said and done.”

“If the house isn’t destroyed,” Virgil mumbled as Patton walked over with several pans of food.

“Oh I’m sure you turned the stove off!” Patton said, smiling at Virgil. “We’d have heard if it went up in flames!”

“More of a… figurative destroyed, but thanks Pat.”

“What does that-” Patton cut himself off when a very loud stomach grumble made its way through the room. Everyone looked over at the twins who were pointing at each other.

“It was Remus!”

“You liar! It was you!”

“Kids!” Logan said as he gestured towards the table. “Does it matter? Sit down, I think it’s time to eat.”

No one even thought about protesting. Roman shuffled into the bench and sat down as Patton placed a plate of food in front of him. “Thanks Padre.”

Remus, who had followed him onto the bench, sat down and smiled when Patton handed him his food. “Thank you Pops!”

Once everyone got their food and started eating, Janus began to recount a weird experience they had on the flight home. 

“And then this white suburban mom asked if we were boyfriends— which is a completely reasonable question, don’t get me wrong, but when we said no she got really annoyed at us which, first off, is ridiculous because we don’t owe you anything, and second, you’re sitting in front of us on a plane with your noisy kid, so if anything  _ you _ owe  _ us _ something. And  _ then _ she said, ‘Well if you aren’t brothers and you aren’t boyfriends, what are you?’ Like she completely forgot friends were a thing?”

“I mean, be kind, Janus,” Virgil said. “She was just confused because she’s never had any friends.”

Laugher sprung up from various points around the table, and Patton shook his head with a smile. “Vee, don't be mean! Give her the benefit of the doubt maybe she just forgot! Slip of the mind, she was probably focusing on her kid!”

Virgil raised an eyebrow, “Uh-huh, then why ask in the first place? It’s not like we wanted to answer prying questions about our relationship. Especially not on a plane.” 

Virgil’s eyes lit up. “How much do you think her brain would have exploded if I had told her about queerplatonic relationships?”

“Oh, fully,” Janus said immediately. “If one can’t picture a relationship besides boyfriends and brothers, QPRs are brain surgery.”

“Odd metaphor and phrasing,” Logan said, “but I suppose it was an odd situation. What did you say?”

“We, luckily, didn’t have to say anything,” Virgil said. “A flight attendant came round asking her to put on her seatbelt and we were rescued by take off.”

“So where did you go?” Remus asked, his mouth half full of food, “I mean you still haven’t told us about your actual trip!”

“Oh-” Janus said as Virgil glanced at him, “Well, we went to visit some friends of ours. We didn’t do much.”

“Bo~ring!” 

“Yeah you leave for two weeks and you don’t do anything?” Roman huffed. “I  _ missed you _ for two whole weeks and you weren’t even out there living high and mighty! Ridiculous.”

Before Virgil or Janus could respond, Logan cut in gently, “Oh any note, Patton, how’s your new project coming along?”

“Project?” Virgil asked.

Patton’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I’ve been writing some music again! I remember why we liked it so much, it’s very cathartic.”

“I’m sure it's much better than ours were back in the day,” Janus said with a smile.

“Oh come on Janus, give us some credit,” Virgil said. “I mean we had some pretty  _ killer _ songs.”

All four of the adults around the table laughed. 

“Oh my god, I’d almost forgotten about that!” Patton said.

“Well  _ I _ hadn’t!” Logan said, and the table burst into laughter again.

Roman looked over at Remus, who looked just as confused as he did.

Virgil glanced over at the twins and smiled. “Oh, I think it might be storytime, guys.”

Logan laughed, “Probably, but I shouldn’t tell it because well, you know.”

Roman and Remus were vibrating with excitement by the time they decided Virgil would tell the story.

“Okay so-”

“Wait! You gotta do the thing!” 

“Tradition~!” Roman sang.

Virgil grinned, “Right.” He cleared his throat before bringing his hands up like a curtain and announcing, _ “Storytime!” _

“So…” Virgil started, “We were working out a new song of ours in Patton’s garage.” 

_ “I’m thinking instead we could go for a minor 7th here,” Virgil said as he played the chord. _

_ “Minor 7th? Wow, getting fancy Vee,” Janus said, smiling and showing off the braces that were attempting to shackle his teeth into place. _

_ “Yeah, I thought I’d bring out the big guns now, show you what I’m made of? The past three years have actually just been an elaborate scheme to lower your expectations of me.” _

_ Logan snorted, “Don’t give Janus any ideas. You know he’d commit to that.” _

_ Patton walked back into the garage with four water bottles, “Okay! Water for you, water for you, water for you,” Patton said, tossing the bottles at his friends, “and water for me!” _

_ Logan fumbled the bottle and it rolled under a shelf. “Whatever,” he mumbled, picking up his drumsticks. “Everyone ready?” _

_ Patton nodded as he wiped his mouth, picked up his bass guitar, and positioned himself by the microphone. “Yep!” _

_ Janus strummed his guitar. “Seems like it.” _

_ “I’m set,” Virgil said as he put down his half empty water bottle and nodded at Logan. “What song are we playing?” _

_ “Pick up again at Killer?” Patton suggested. _

_ “Sounds good to me. Count us in L?” _

_ Logan nodded, “1-2- and a 1-2-3-” _

_ The garage burst to life. _

_ After an intro which went on far too long, Patton stepped a little closer to the mic… _

“And I just- I completely forgot the lyrics of the song!” Virgil obviously lied, and the twins groaned. “I’ll just skip ahead. So at the climax of the song, everything was building, and as Patton sang the final lyric to top out the climax…”

_ “And you're just my killer!” Patton sang. _

_ Logan’s head bobbed and collided with the drum set in a cacophony of random sounds. _

_ Virgil looked over—that wasn’t a part of the song— to see Logan face first on the drums, unconscious. _

_ “Logan?” Virgil stopped playing and rushed over to his friend. “Holy shit, did he just fucking die?” _

_ Janus and Patton both now noticed what was going on. Patton gasped and he slapped a hand over his mouth, “Oh my god! Should I go see if an adult is home? Is he breathing? Do we need to call an ambulance?” _

_ As Virgil and Patton freaked out, Janus took it upon himself to check Logan for a pulse. “Hey fuckers!” Janus said. “He’s alive. He just fainted or something.” _

_ Virgil made a face, “Oh.”  _

_ Janus raised an eyebrow, “Don’t look so disappointed, Virgil.” _

_ Just then Logan groaned as he began to regain consciousness. “Ugh- what... happened?” _

_ “You fainted,” Janus said. “Uh, we should probably call your dad, right? Like so he can make sure you're not actually dying.” _

_ “Mm- probably dehydrated, but yeah.” Logan rubbed his head, “I’m gonna have a killer headache.” _

_ “I thought you were dead!” Patton said as he flung himself at a still very disoriented Logan. “You’re never allowed to do that ever again!” _

_ “I’m not sure that I have much control-” _

_ Virgil shoved his water bottle at Logan as Patton pulled away from the hug. “Shut up and drink something, where did yours go?”  _

_ Logan gestured vaguely around as he struggled to unscrew the top of Virgil’s water with shaky hands. “I dropped it?” _

_ “Idiot,” Janus said fondly. “Do you want me to call your dad now?” _

_ Logan nodded as Virgil took the water back and unscrewed the cap. “Yes, thank you.” _

_ Virgil handed the open water to him, “You’re not allowed to scare us like that again.” _

_ “You keep saying that,” Logan said as he drank the water, “but I’m not sure how much control I have over you thinking I’m dead.” _

_ “He did  _ **_WHAT?!”_ ** __

_ Janus was holding his phone about an arms length away from his head as Logan’s dad’s voice came loud and clear through his phone. _

_ “He fainted Mr. Berry,” Janus called through the phone. “But he’s awake now?” _

_ “Thank you Janus. Could you put him on?”  _

_ Janus held it out and Logan winced and took it, “Hi Dad.” _

_ “Logan? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” _

_ “Yes, but I’m fine, relatively speaking.” _

_ “You did hit your head?” _

_ “...uh, yes,” Logan said hesitantly _

_ “Okay, I’m coming to pick you up. What did you hit your head on? How many fingers am I holding up?” _

_ “The drum set, and... I can’t see you. We’re over the phone.” _

_ Logan could hear the smile in his dad’s voice as he said, “You've still got your head on your shoulders, that's good.” _

_ “In all fairness, it made a very funny sound, sir!” Patton called. “I thought Logan was trying to improv!” _

_ Logan’s dad laughed, “Well at least it wasn’t the floor, drums have a little give to them. Have you drunk water?” _

_ “Yeah, I just did.” _

_ “Well, drink a little more. I’ll be there in ten. You boys keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't try to play any more drums with his head!” _

_ “Will do!” Patton responded. _

_ “Alright. I love you Logan, see you soon.” _

_ “Love you too Dad.” _

_ Logan hung up and handed the phone back over to Janus. “I can’t believe I fainted. You all are never going to let me live this down, are you?” _

_ “Of course not, Mr. We-All-Need-To-Drink-Enough-Water-During-Summer,” Janus mocked. “Impeccable timing though, right at the climax of the song.” _

_ Logan shrugged and rubbed his head. “Yeah yeah. You have full permission to bug me about drinking water for a while.” _

_ “Oh, you shouldn't give us that much autonomy,” Janus said with a wink. “It’ll be years before you can talk to us without shoving water in your face.” _

_ “ _ Wait-” Roman interjected, “so Dad, was it actually years before they stopped bugging you?” 

“Fortunately no,” Logan said, “Our focus shifted to graduation and college and people forgot.”

“Well,  _ I _ never forgot. How could I? My little teenage brain thought you were dead,” Virgil said. “I was just biding my time. I got a little distracted after…” Virgil shot a look at Patton and grinned. “Well that’s another story.”

“Did you actually think he was dead?” Remus asked.

“Like a little bit!” Patton said. “I mean, it was a high tension moment.”

Roman looked at Logan. “How did it feel to faint? Did you see stars?”

“Yes, it was unpleasant, and you should hope it doesn’t ever happen to you,” Logan glanced at Remus. “Either of you.”

“Aw, so I can’t do a dramatic recreation of this story?” Remus whined.

“Absolutely not!” All the adults chorused.

The family fell into comfortable conversation as everyone caught up with one another, talking long into the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Translation: bisabuela- great grandmother
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you liked it please leave a comment and let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts <3
> 
> Tumblr: @thesentientmango


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